chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

BOO(, k.own infornalion ahoui tbc openings or
the endgame derived from pnblhhed sources.
Book draw or book win: an end8.he posilion lor
shichrheiechniquerequired tobringabouladraw
o. a win respectively is known or presnmed to be
known tobotbplayere. Bookplayer: one who plays
'according to thc bDok'. implying a Iornal and
BORISENIiO. GEORGY KONSTANTINO
I.ICH (i922 ), Sovici player. InEmational
conespondence Chess Grandnaster (1965). He
played in scvcn soviet championships i,irb i.diflcrcnr
snccess. but tared belter Nhen he look to
postal chess, and in thc 4th World CnrresPondencc
championship, 1962-5, was runner up 10 zAcoRovsH.
On 6vc occasiotu trom 1945 to 1960
Borisenko sqfc, trrcValenlina Belola (192(l- l.
won o! shared the romen\ ches chamPionsbip of
rhe UssR.
BORTSEN(O VARIATION, 401, as in the gane
Bronstein Borisenko USSR chanpionship, 1958
GeeBALAsHov). and 407, asr ndard continuation.
both in the sP NrsE oPENTNG
BOTVINNIK, MIKHAIL MOISEYEVTCH
(1911- ), Intemational crandmasrer (1950),
Wo.td Champion 1948-57, 1958 60, a.d 1961-3,
elecrrical ensinccr. Bom in Leninsrad, the youn
ger \on .t ;dental me(h.nrc B.tvinntk lermed
.h.s xt ihe ire .r 12 Hc des.rib$ him\eli c5 a
round{houlde'red, fl alchested, bespectaclcd boy,
a book*orn not lood oI sporribut hh chess lalenr
developcd fast He achie!.d several successes in
Lcningrad, notably lirslplace in anadotal tour.amenl.
1930 (+6=1 l), probably $e bcst pe ornance
b! an l8-year-old uplo lhat time, and tust
olace,n the USSR (hampionship\ ui I'r1l
i+12:J.2)and19ll(+l =h 2). Also rn I'rl1he
dretr r makh wrrh Fr,,Hk (+2=8 2) Alrcad, he
idenlilied hisown chess prospects with those of1he
USSR, and perhaps becausc he lelt lhis resPonsibiliry
he Iailed badly in.his ntut internalional
toumanent- Haslings 193+5 (equal liftn among
len corpctitoB) Nikolai rlYI-rNo, who had in
vain scnt hin ad encouraCing telegan, thcn
organized i*o internatioaal tourn.denls ar Mo$
cow: 1935- vncn Botvinnit scored +9=8 2 lo
share 6ret prize sitb Flohr ahcad ol En. usGR
and cApABL^N.ai and 1936, ivhen be look seco.d
place (+7=10 1) lftcr Capablanca ahcad ol
Flohr. Then- at NottinShan 1936, hc came nBt
(+6=8) cqual witb capabla'ra ahead of E!wE-
AL.xHrNt. and Flohr His
achievements in thcse three major cvcDts estab
lished his position as a world class player, an
aspirlnt io the chamPion\ titlc, lhen held by
Bo(vinnik r.mained an an.reur, contnruing
poslgraduatc siudies in Leningrad, and he bad
othcr rcsponsibiliiies, having maried a balle!
danceri but he sysrematicauy pursued bn chess
BOTVINNIK 45
.mbjtioas. He devised a training Programmc of
unprecedenled thoroughness: Practicc with strong
players (McozrN sas his sPaning pa.her for a long
dne), the study ofnasier games, the publicaiio.
of analysis ro be criti.ized by oders, lcarni.g ro
handle the clock to aroid tine-irouble and 10
co"enrate in spite of disrurbance (a non snoker,
he pralhsed {ilh hec\! smokersl. lhe a of
ADI'usMENr analy{s, anJ regul Ihysi.al acriv
i& to maintain ntness. Notins that mo$ innola_
ti;ns in the op€ning mnsisted ofa trick or surprise
that once played loses i1s nsetulness because it is
known, he devned opening systems thal could be
used repenledl, I\o ut rhem dre the Rubin{cin
Vrnd'on of fie Nmzo.lndra0 De(encc and the
Winavcr Vanarion of tbe French Delencei rhe
Iincs he chose oiten brousht aboul a Ined or
hlocked cenrre with promisc oI a Sood strugele
characlerird by nank nanEuvnng.
ln rhe *ronsen rolrnameor held up to rha( rime.
a\Rn l913 Bot!rnoik rrne third (+l=q 2)
Immediarely afteMards he challen8ed Aleknine,
who had rcgained the world tiile. Aiter thc oflicial
challenge was senl and b.fore the locadon could be
asreed lhe Secord World War begao.In bn osn
countrv Botlinnik had sulered aserb.ck i. 193?
$hcn, pLalinp a mdr(h srlh LL!LNFrsH. cuirenny
ihe nirional champt.n, he.uuLd onLv draw
(+5=3 5)i he won the chatuPionship in 1939
(+8=q) bur \hared fifih plr!e in 1440, r0orher
!er br!k Feanns rhdr the !nvret aurhunues might
no longer regard hin as iheir chosen rcprcsenta'
tive, Botvinnikpe6uaded V. Snegnov, head of lhe
soviet chess depa nent, ro promote a special
loumament. a so called -absoiute championship'
ofthcUSSR.ltNas hcld al LeninArad andMosco*
in 19,11 and thc competnors serc those Nho took
rhe 6rn six pla.cs in tbechanrionshiploumanent
of i940.Botvin.ikwonhandsomely(+9=9 2).'It
is clcal, he \rrote,-who should Play Alekhine.'
Shortly afteMards the USSR Nas invaded.
Excmpted ironm narysenicco. accountof poor
eyesighl, Bolvinnik sas permitled lo leave Lenin
grad, lnd on l7 .^ug., two dals belorc thc
Geimans dr the rait [nn. he and hn wile l.alelled
to ihe Urals. Al ?ern he obtaincd a post*nh the
Urals Energy Orglnization, soon becomng head
oI the high vohgc holation service. He srole a
book on the absolulecnampionship.withexcellenl
annoralions to all rhe gamcs. Il Nas pubhhed in
1947, the English \cB\an Chanpianthip Ches
.ppearinEihreeyearslater.lnJan. l943,believing
rhat hh chess luture. and thcrciore lhe luture of
Soviel chess. was threatcDcd because he ould not
6nd enough timc fo. study he wrole to Molotoli
thc Comnissar for Foreign ,{ffans, and as a
consequence his enploycr was inslructed ro allos
binthree daysaweckforchess study. Nextyearhc
{as iransfcrrcd lo Moscor Fron 19431.1947 he
won lirc toumanenc: Sverdlolsk 1943 (+7=7)
and the UssR Championship 1944 (+11=3 2).
torh rines ahead of snlslov and BoLEsLAvsn:
USSR Championship 1945 (+13=4) lhead of